Stomatosuchus

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Stomatosuchus
Fossil range: Cenomanian

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Diapsida
Infraclass:	Archosauromorpha
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Stomatosuchidae
Genus:	Stomatosuchus
Species:	S. inermis

Stomatosuchus inermis ("Weaponless mouth crocodile") was an enormous 12 meter long eusuchian^[1] crocodilian from the Cenomanian epoch of Upper Cretaceous Egypt. Unlike most other crocodilians, it is difficult to determine exactly what S. inermis ate. Its flattened skull had a long, flat, lid-like snout, which was lined with 2 to 3 centimeter long teeth. The mandible was built like a gasket, and had no teeth. Some have suggested that this gasket-like lower jaw would have supported a pelican-like throat pouch ^[2]. As such, all researchers are certain that S. inermis was incapable of tackling large vertebrate prey.

This crocodilian probably relied on its size and scutes to defend itself, as it lacked large teeth. It was also probably not a fast swimmer, as its wide head was rather cumbersome. Most likely, only the females returned to land, in order to lay eggs. Even then, such a large, slow-moving animal would have been vulnerable to terrestrial predators, such as the spinosaurs Suchomimus and Spinosaurus, or the abelisaur Rugops.

Sadly, the only known specimen, a large skull, which was collected in German paleontologist Ernst Stromer's Egyptian expedition, was obliterated when the Munich Museum was destroyed during an Allied bombing raid in 1944.